Futurelawyer

Tamron 18-400 mm Super Zoom Lens - The Super Zoom For The Rest Of Us.

Yes, I am talking about you. Last week, I discussed my Tamron 28-300 Zoom lens, which is an all purpose small lens that is a traveler's dream. In the old days, I carried 25 pounds of camera equipment around, and it was exhausting. I was usually too tired to change lenses every 10 minutes, and sometimes, especially at Zoological Parks, would change from a wide angle lens to a medium telephoto to a long lens in the same location. My super zoom, a 600 mm behemoth that was two feet long and required a tripod, wasn't designed for a stroll through Zoo Tampa or Sunken Gardens. However, Tamron went the 28-300 one better, and last year I purchased the new Super Zoom 18-400 mm lens, which is a delight. In fact, it is the only lens I carry these days. It can shoot everything from wide angle to really long zoom shots with a twist of the barrel. It is light and fast, as long as you realize that there are always compromises in such lenses. Since I don't make poster sized prints much anymore, posting in the cloud on the Internet and in social media is without compromise at all. Check out this review of the lens. Oh, did I mention that the lens costs around $600? Comparable lenses for professionals cost thousands. This is the one for the rest of us.

Why I Only Need One Lens To Carry Around.

Yesterday, I talked about my Tamron 28-300mm variable zoom lens that allows for a wide range of shooting, and eliminates the need to carry around a lot of lenses. I have always wanted to travel light, and I tended to use my Smartphone camera more and more over the years. But, especially for zoo photography and travel photography, there will always be situations where a super zoom is necessary to get the shot, and, two years ago, I found the perfect lens. Compact, and easy to carry around, the Tamron went one better with the 18-400mm zoom, which doesn't give up much quality of image, and has an incredible range. It is now the only one I take with me. This review should clarify why.

 

If I Ever Get To Travel Again...I Am Taking A Tamron Variable Zoom Lens

Serious photography can be bulky, heavy and, well, serious. Modern SLRs of the digital variety are less heavy and bulky than their predecessors; but, they are still far less convenient than your Smartphone camera. For non Zoom situations, the phone camera can be fine, since most of us only use it to post photos on the Internet. But, the most versatile lenses are the variable zooms; and, the Tamron 28-300 mm lens checks the boxes for me. It will never match a $6,000 lens, of course; but, for $600, you get normal to super zoom length, a small, compact light body, and you can even go wide angle to super zoom with an 18-400 mm Tamron lens. I have both, and use the 28-300 for most applications, like zoo photography and walking around the neighborhood. Carrying the Canon T6 with the 28-300 mm lens mounted is hardly more cumbersome than carrying a smartphone around. Actually, I still take Smartphone photos when walking around Sunken Gardens or the Zoo, because they are immediately uploaded to the cloud via WiFi, and I have immediate access. The T6 requires me to stop for a few minutes, while I connect the camera to WiFi and upload the photos manually. I do this several times a day, because it gives me a running picture of the day's work. I can shift gears, if necessary, or, I can even retrace my steps if I missed something I want to explore in more detail. I really don't miss the days when I might shoot all day with a film camera, and come home to the darkroom, not knowing what I had until the slides or negatives had been developed. Yes, you can love the process of creating photographs in the darkroom; but, you can also grow to love the instant gratification of a digital camera and WiFi. Pick your poison.

YellowStone National Park

Have you visited a National Park recently? Wish I had been here when this happened, with my cameras.

What a sight, and what sounds! https://t.co/ViLu37LkHa

— Caspar Henderson (@casparhenderson) June 17, 2020

When Facebook Photos Become Google Photos

How To Transfer Facebook Photos To Google Photos. Do you know where your photos are? Probably scattered all over the place. If you have followed the FutureLawyer's advice, you have long since started using the best free photo aggregator and storage service out there, Google Photos. Just about every photo I have take for the last few years, and some earlier ones, are archived on Google's servers, and the service has gotten better every year. But, I also post a lot of photos to Facebook, and, while I can access them on the Facebook Photos page, they are nowhere near as accessible as in the albums and other ways I have them organized on Google Photos. So, check out this menu option the next time you are on Facebook, and preserve all that goodness in an organized fashion. You never know when you will have had enough of Facebook and social media. Backup, backup, backup.

If It's Tuesday, You Must Watch A Film About Ansel Adams

I am a serious amateur photographer. The highlight of my photography life was visiting the Ansel Adams gallery in Yosemite National Park. I own an original Adams print of Half Dome, printed by his staff from the original negative. If you want some beauty in your life right now (and who doesn't?) watch this documentary. Spend an hour with beauty and greatness.

 

Take A Moment... Turn Your Phone Into A DSLR

Moment Lenses And Cases. Okay, maybe adding a Moment case and lens to your Smartphone won't magically turn it into a functioning DSLR. But, that Smartphone in your pocket can, with a couple of mobile additions, turn that phone into a really good camera. The best camera for any photographer is the one she has with her when out and about. When I am doing a serious day of photography, while sightseeing or going to the Zoo or theme park, I usually carry a Canon T6 with a 18-400 zoom lens, which is the most versatile setup for real DSLR photography out there for the serious amateur. Professionals opt for much more expensive setups, and expensive lenses; but, the best photos are in the mind of the photographer, and the equipment is not the most important thing, as long as it is up for the task. But, all of the clip on lenses for Smartphones to date have been tough to use, and not of the highest quality. Enter Moment, and cases customized for most Smartphones, with a little lip over the lenses on the back that accepts really fine lenses that twist on, and are stable. The result, when added to a phone grip like the Pictar, which I have posted about before, and you have a hand carried camera that really shines. Thanks, Moment, for making many more of my moments special.

Honeymoon Highlights

I know this blog is supposed to be about legal tech, but the highlight of our honeymoon cruise came tonight when we received the Black and White proofs of our photo shoot yesterday. Our photographer is a genius, as I hope you will agree. We are going to put between 6 and 12 of them in a large wall sized frame for the house. Say what you want about cruise photography, this made the whole cruise for us.I hope you enjoy seeing them half as much as we do. . 

The Analog Revolution - Back To Our Roots?

Film Photography Comeback? I love my vinyl record collection. I have two turntables in the office, and I love the slow pace of going through the records, choosing one, taking it out of the sleeve, using a dust brush, carefully placing it on the turntable, and turning on the imperfect, but authentic, sound. When the first side concludes, I am forced to get out of my chair, walk to the turntable, turn the record over, and begin again. OK, Millennial. I get it. Why waste all that time, when I can just click an icon on my computer or smartphone, and listen to pure, digital music? Hey, I get it. I am the FutureLawyer, remember? But, there is something primal about OLD tech, and music isn't the only game in town. I used to spend hours in a darkroom, winding 35 mm color slide film, developing it in plastic tanks, trimming and mounting the slides, and then putting them in an enlarger and making Cibachrome prints on paper. I would develop them in big plastic drums, and the magic of seeing beautiful color prints come out of the drums was palpable. I still have all of my darkroom equipment in my den, and occasionally threaten to get back to it. Anybody else out there have a bunch of old camera bodies and lenses that need dusting off?

When You Absolutely, Positively Only Want To Carry One Lens - Tamron 18-400

Tamron 18-400 Zoom Lens. I own a lot of camera bodies and lenses, which I have accumulated over the years, since the Eighties. The early film cameras are still in my den, reminders of the days when I spent hours in a darkroom, developing film, and making prints from slides with Cibachrome. In recent years, the development of digital cameras has reached a point where a compact, light, and easy to carry system like the Canon Rebel T6 is the only camera I bring when I travel. Now, for a paltry $649, I only need to carry one lens, the Tamron 18-400 Zoom, to shoot anything under the sun. Really. I can shoot animals in motion, landscapes without vibration, and anything in between. I don't have to get too close to my subjects. I am a lazy photographer, and tend to plant myself wherever, and zoom in and out at will. I don't even take a tripod with me anymore. The image stabilization built in to the lens (Tamron calls it vibration compensation) will correct up to 2 1/2 stops of movement, and gives rock solid focus at all times. Yes, Smartphone cameras have gotten pretty good over the years; but, there is no substitute for a good SLR matched to a good lens. See you in the field.